1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general, relates to cooking apparatus and, more particularly, to devices for cooking foods about a campfire.
The cooking of food about a campfire is, for many people, the essence of the camping experience. It matters little whether the campfire is located in remote back-country accessible only by foot or is located immediately alongside a motor home. The simple act of cooking foods out of doors about an open fire brings pleasure to many people.
However, as many people discover, it is not as easy to cook food about an open campfire in practice as it appears to their imagination. It is difficult, for example, to control the cooking temperature. Food cooked over a campfire will often cook either too slowly or burn if it is allowed to cook to quickly.
Once certain food items have been properly heated, it is difficult to maintain those food items at an ideal serving temperature while preparing other food items.
It is also inconvenient generally to serve food that has been cooked over a campfire as the bottom of the cooking implements are hot and soot covered. Therefore, while food is being served, it is desirable to be able to leave the cooking implements resting on the same surface used during heating but without continuing to further heat the food.
Certain food items that are cooked over a campfire are best prepared over an open grill surface, such as hot dogs and hamburgers. Certain other food items, such as soups and stews, require a container or pot. Still other food items, such as fried eggs, are best prepared using a griddle type of cooking surface.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for a versatile camp grill that is portable, provides for easy control of the cooking temperature, is able to maintain food at the desired temperature, is able to hold pots, pans, and food items without heating them further, and can accommodate different types of cooking surfaces.
2. Description of Prior Art
Campfire grills are known. For example, the following U.S. patents describe various types of camp and barbecue grills:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,604,884 to Walker, Jul. 29, 1952; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,827,846 to Karkling, issued Mar. 25, 1958; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,354 to Claire et al., issued Apr. 11, 1978; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,912 to Burnside, issued Aug. 6, 1985; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,525 to Ruble, issued Nov. 19, 1985; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,608 to Allred et al., issued Aug. 26, 1986; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,753 to Neyman et al, dated Feb. 16, 1988; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,423 to Burns, issued Aug. 15, 1989; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,490 to Nudo et al., issued Dec. 25, 1990; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,806, that issued Jun. 2, 1992.
While the structural arrangements of the above described devices, at first appearance, have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences will be described in more detail hereinafter.